Green Room

Finally: Jon Huntsman to join No Labels

I can’t believe he wasn’t a member already. A marginal centrist group that’s known mainly for its ostentatious disdain for ideologues? It’s so him.

“Too many people in Washington believe that leading consists of imposing their will on the opposition. It is true of both parties,” Huntsman, a Republican, said during a conference call organized by the group No Labels. “This all or nothing leadership is an attitude that may work on military battlefields or in competitive business markets … but it’s a recipe for dysfunction in democratic politics.”

Huntsman is expected to sign on as a co-chairman of No Labels, a Washington nonprofit that aims to bring Republicans, Democrats and independents together to solve pressing issues.

One would think that joining a group called “No Labels” would require you to shed your own label, but as far as I can tell, Huntsman will remain a member of the GOP. Ah well. I doubt this will suffice to rebuild his bridges to Team O after campaigning against him, but it might be enough to put JH in play for another ambassadorial position if we end up with President Hillary in 2016.

And now, as has been the custom for generations whenever a new member joins, we honor Jon Huntsman with a ceremonial playing of the No Labels anthem.